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<title>Alistair/Lileas fail by Starla-Nell (Princess_Nell)</title>
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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24969577">Alistair/Lileas fail</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Princess_Nell/pseuds/Starla-Nell'>Starla-Nell (Princess_Nell)</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>The Bournshire Boys [21]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Dragon Age (Video Games)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>How to take no for an answer, if you're a gentleman</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-06-28</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-06-28</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-04 00:22:21</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,033</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24969577</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Princess_Nell/pseuds/Starla-Nell</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Alistair learns the first lesson of dating the hard way: always say that it is, in fact, a date.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Alistair &amp; OC</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>The Bournshire Boys [21]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/472279</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Alistair/Lileas fail</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>9:27 Dragon</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Alistair took a deep breath and puffed it out. He could do this. He would ask Lileas out, go into town with her. Alistair had been in trouble often enough, he knew when the kitchen staff would be done with work. Not that it helped much. He hung outside the door at the right time, but the head groundskeeper shooed him away.</p><p>“Are you up to something?” she asked. She always seemed efficient and direct, never wasting a word or a motion.</p><p>“What? No,” Alistair said. <em>Wait, I am sort of up to something, aren’t I?</em> “Is that what this looks like?”</p><p>“Sure does. Get on, now, go to the Chantry or something, Chantry boy.” But she said it in a gentle tone, with a kindly smile. Alistair couldn’t help but wonder whether she had grandkids.</p><p><em>Hmm. Alright, now what?</em> His usual method for getting into the kitchens was to get into trouble. Huh. It had been a while since he’d cooked up some really good trouble. He hadn’t been creative about it since … well, since Maric’s funeral, but he did have his old standbys.</p><p>“I’m sorry, Alistair,” said the chicken-keeper, “all of the feathers are being sold. Something about a market in feathered pauldrons.”</p><p>
  <em>What are chicken-keepers called? Not herders, chickens group in flocks. Flockers? No, that’s something else. Probably. </em>
</p><p>Alistair moved on.</p><p>“No, I’m not going to unlock the broom closet door for you,” said a lay sister who acts more like a custodian. “We keep the wheel grease in there.”</p><p>Alistair tried his innocent look. <em>One of these days, it might even work.</em> “But, Sister, I need”—</p><p>“Not without a pass you don’t,” she said sternly. “You greased all the door handles a few years back, which was unpleasant, you little so-and-so.”</p><p>
  <em>Flames. Note to self: strike ‘so-and-so’ from your vocabulary. </em>
</p><p>Then, turning a corner, Alistair literally ran into the very person he’s been trying to talk to.</p><p>“Oh!” Lileas cried, bouncing off him.</p><p>Alistair caught her. “Sorry!” he blurted. She bent to pick up—what was she carrying? Leftovers from the kitchen. He helped her collect the dishes, a little shaken but not broken. They nearly bump heads reaching for the same crock. “Ah, I’m not very good at this, am I?”</p><p>She looks at him strangely. “Not very good at running people over? I would hope that’s not a skill you’re trying to develop,” she said.</p><p>“No, I…” he hands her the last of the dishes and glances away. Suddenly a calm settles over him. “I was wondering if I might escort you into town? We have a free day coming up.”</p><p>“I do need to get a bolt of fabric. On horseback?” Lileas asked, smiling.</p><p>“Of course,” Alistair said, imagining her pressed against his back, like he’d seen some of the Redcliffe stablehands do with their dates. He could get horses from the stable, those were on loan to anyone who needed them, even the older apprentices. In fact, most of the older apprentices would be getting horses and going into town.</p><p>---</p><p>Their free day dawned bright and clear. Alistair rushed to the bath for once, drawing surprised looks from the early boys there, but not caring. He had a date! He groomed more carefully than usual, paying special attention to his hair. Then he got down to the stables, not wanting to be late, and picked up the horse. He was so early he spent a good quarter-hour brushing the horse and letting it graze before Lileas appeared, right on time. He was bored, but it was worth it, just to see her.</p><p>“She’s beautiful,” Lileas said, in lieu of greeting.</p><p>“She sure is,” Alistair said, quickly turning his eyes to the horse. “I’ll be right back,” he added, grinning. He spun to take the brush back in.</p><p>When he got back, Lileas was already up on the horse, looking incredibly comfortable.</p><p>“Where’s yours?” she asked.</p><p>“I thought”—Alistair paused in confusion. “I thought we would share?”</p><p>But Lileas shook her head. “I need the space for the fabric. You know…” She was looking at him strangely again, he wished she would <em>stop</em> that. “The reason I’m going into town?”</p><p>“Oh!” he hadn’t ever said <em>date,</em> had he? But there were so many students going to town. “They’re short on horses, today.”</p><p>“Oh,” her face fell.</p><p>“Don’t worry,” Alistair said, “I can walk. I know it will take longer for you that way, though. If you want to find someone with a horse to go with…”</p><p>“Alistair!” called a familiar voice. “Aren’t you going into town today?” Cullen rode up with a few friends.</p><p>Alistair turned, blushing. “They’re short on horses,” he admits. “I think I’ll walk.”</p><p>That’s met with an avalanche of teasing from Cullen’s friends. Someone offers him to ‘ride girl’ behind them, clearly not serious. And no, if he gets some sort of weird reaction to watching Lileas ride her horse, he does <em>not</em> want to be pressed against one of Cullen’s friends’ backs, thank you very much.</p><p>He doesn’t say <em>that</em>, but when it’s clear he’s walking, Lileas turns to Cullen. “By the way,” she says, “would you care to escort me into town?”</p><p>“Certainly, milady,” Cullen says, turning up the charm. Alistair rolls his eyes. “See you later, Alistair!” The whole group of them rides off toward town, and Alistair almost wishes he’d agreed to ride behind someone, just to be going with them.</p><p>“You just look at her and want to have sex, Chantry boy?” said the stable-hand. “Sorry about the horses.”</p><p>Alistair rolled his eyes. “I’m 17. Looking at flagstone makes me wanna have sex.”</p><p>The stable-hand snorted, much like his horses.</p><p>“It’s probably for the best that didn’t work,” the custodian said from behind them. They both spun. She was carrying a bucket and mop, and Alistair tried to figure out which two buildings she was walking between as she says, “You’d be struck by lightning if that succeeded. Or you’d go blind.”</p><p>Alistair rolled his eyes. “Or civilization would end or something, probably,” he snarked at her. The stable-hand laughed, but Alistair stomped off to the training ground, no longer in the mood to go into town.</p><p> </p>
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